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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Barley Bean Curd Sheet Dessert Soup (腐竹薏米糖水）

This is a popular Cantonese dessert soup, usually served warm. Whenever I cook this, I like to keep some in the fridge and have it cold the next day, which is so refreshing especially on a hot afternoon.

This is a simplified version as I only used pearl barley and bean curd sheets. I did not add any ginkgo nuts or hard-boiled quail eggs. My mum used to cook the detailed version and in a big pot! After drinking one big bowl of it, it's like having a meal, since barley has the effect of filling up your tummy. So, if you are on a diet, have more barley drink (just make sure you control the amount of sugar in it).

4) Drizzle beaten eggs (preferably just egg whites for nicer effect) over the soup and off the heat immediately. Give it a swirl.

5) Cover for another 30 minutes before serving.

Cooking tips:

1) Use fresh ginkgo nuts, wherever possible. While de-shelled ginkgo nuts are now easily available in canned and vacuum-packed, I do not recommend using these as they usually has some awful chemical-treated taste. For fresh ginkgo nuts, crack open the shell, remove the nut. If nut looks dry and wrinkled, discard. Soak the nuts in warm water to loosen the thin brown skin covering the nut and remove the skin before adding to soup.

2) Hard-boiled quail egg adds a lovely aroma to the soup, which would otherwise be missing. So if you are wondering why your mum's or aunt's barley bean curd sheets desserts taste better, this could be the reason.

3) Patience. This dessert is a typical Cantonese dessert soup which requires long simmering time to bring out the flavour and texture. Quick boiling will not do.

yes, sometimes I will add the bean curd sticks right at the beginning, then it will dissolve into the soup at the end of cooking, like a milky soy bean drink. But i prefer to feel the smooth bean stick sliding into my tongue with each bite, so adjusted the cooking time.